Police capture bank robbery suspect

Fort Smith bank robbed Tuesday morning

Police said they have captured a man suspected of robbing a Fort Smith bank at gunpoint Tuesday morning.

Police said they located the suspect, Thomas Henry Auldridge, 55, of Dallas, at a hotel in Roland, Okla.

Investigators said the he walked into the Arvest bank, at 3200 Rogers Blvd., at about 7:24 a.m. Police said surveillance footage and witness statements showed the suspect giving plastic bags containing notes to three tellers inside the lobby.

Investigators said the notes said to fill the bags with money, and read, “I am armed.”

The tellers complied and the man left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Fort Smith detectives, along with Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents searched casinos across the state line in Oklahoma moments after suspect descriptions were obtained.

Shortly after the search began, an older model Ford passenger car was located backed into a parking space at the Travelodge Motel in Roland. A clerk told officers a man matching the description of the robbery suspect had checked into a room just minutes before police arrived.

Auldridge consented to having his room and car searched, and officers said they found a plaid shirt and sunglasses matching those worn in the robbery lying on the bed.

Police said they also found a large amount of cash inside the motel room and in Auldridge's possession.

Auldridge was taken into custody and transported to the Roland Police Department for an interview. As a result of the interview by the FBI and other evidence, a warrant is being sought for his arrest for aggravated robbery in connection with the Arvest Bank robbery.

Police said Information obtained during Auldridge's interview shows a possible connection between him and other bank robberies in other states.

Auldridge is being held at the Sequoyah County Detention Center.

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